


Serious Conversations

by RubyLipsStarryEyes



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: BAMF Lily Evans Potter, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, James Potter is a Good Friend, M/M, Marauders, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Marauders Friendship (Harry Potter), Minor Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, One Shot, Remus Lupin & Lily Evans Potter Friendship, Short One Shot, Sirius Black & Lily Evans Potter Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:08:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26433157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RubyLipsStarryEyes/pseuds/RubyLipsStarryEyes
Summary: James needs help, but he's not ready for the conversation as to WHY he needs help.
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 16
Kudos: 89
Collections: HN Siriusly Amazing Writing Challenge





	Serious Conversations

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired not just by the HN prompt on facebook, but the ever-lovely Ash of ActingAnimagus over on tiktiok and instagram! 
> 
> Enjoy!

James watched Sirius pull Remus into his chest. This moon had been particularly nasty, and he could only imagine the things Padfoot was whispering to a guilt-riddled Moony. Peter was curled up asleep on his cloak, still in his rat form. 

Yawning himself, he took one last glance at the couple, and slipped into the passageway that would lead him back to the school. 

They’d nearly gotten caught by Filch on their way down the night before, causing them to be late and caught off guard when they reached the shack and Moony was already mid-transformation. Pete had thrown himself behind James to shift, and Moony had caught James across the shoulder with a swipe of his claws as he’d shifted. The slashes hadn’t bothered his stag body, but they smarted now. Blood had soaked and dried in his shirt, leaving it stiff and uncomfortable against the open wounds. 

Pulling the invisibility cloak over himself, he hurried up to Gryffindor Tower, hoping that the one person that could help was still there. Reaching the common room, he yanked off the cloak, and swiped a sheet of parchment from a table, scribbling a note before sending it up the stairs with a flick of his wand. 

He climbed the stairs to his own dormitory, shedding the blood-soaked shirt before stooping to find a clean one from his trunk. The door opened behind him, and he waved her in, still rummaging through his trunk for the well-stocked first aid kit he kept for situations like this. 

“Sorry to bug you so early Marly, but—“ he froze. He’d turned around not to find the blond curls of Marlene McKinnon, but the red waves and the very angry eyes of one Lily Evans. 

He watched as her anger faded, replaced with horror at the sight of his bloodied shoulder. 

“What the hell, Potter?” She rushed forward, and James recoiled instinctively. She stopped short, dismay clouding her eyes. “What happened? Why did you send a note to Marly instead of going to Pomfrey?” She looked around the empty dormitory, and narrowed her eyes. “Where are the rest of them?” 

He didn’t answer, his brain short-circuiting at the sheer improbability of the scene: Lily Evans was in his dorm room, he was shirtless, and she wasn't cursing him. She didn’t seem to care, the wheels turning in her bright green eyes, until understanding dawned on her. 

“Last night was the full moon,” she breathed, and James tried to cover any indication that the moon’s phases meant anything to him. He wouldn’t betray Moony, not even to the girl he’d had a crush on since second year when she’d hit Sirius with the best jelly legs jinx he’d ever seen for turning her hair bright purple in Charms. 

“I knew you were dumb, Potter, but going out on a full moon with a werewolf?” Her eyes blazed, and he couldn’t stop the retort. 

“He can’t hurt animals!” He stopped, clamping a hand over his mouth in horror that he’d let slip not just Remus’s condition, but the fact that there were three unregistered animagi running around the castle. They would never forgive him if she went to McGonagall. So he did the only thing he could think of. 

He crossed the space in two long strides, and then his hands were in her hair. His lips crashed against hers, and for a moment she stayed frozen, and he prepared himself to be hexed into oblivion. 

But the jinxes never came. 

Against all odds, a soft whimper escaped her throat, and then her lips moved against his. He could have died from shock when her hands came up around his neck, and instead of strangling him, pulled him closer. Surprised as he was, he couldn’t help how pleased he was that Lily “The Eviscerator” Evans was in his arms. Her hair smelled like oranges, and her lips were soft and pliant, but oh so insistent. 

James forgot about the stinging ache in his shoulder until her fingertips dragged over the top. He broke the kiss, panting in pain. She looked dazed, her eyes glossy and unfocused, her lips slightly parted and swollen. 

Her eyes focused on his shoulder, and cleared instantly. “I was trying to have a serious conversation with you!” 

“And I was subtly trying to avoid it!” 

“That’s not going to work on me, Potter!” 

“It did for a minute,” he grumbled, earning himself a swat to the arm opposite his injury. “Ow, Evans!” 

“What do you bloody mean  _ he can’t hurt animals? _ ” Even if you idiots did figure out how to become animagi under  _ McGonagall’s  _ nose, I’m looking at the bloody evidence that he  _ can  _ and  _ did  _ hurt you!” She gestured at his shoulder, and James shook his head emphatically. 

“No, that was my fault, I was still human.” 

She looked horrified, and James scrambled. “No! I mean I was trying to shift but Wormtail jumped behind me and knocked me towards him.” Her jaw was hanging open, and James held up his hands in surrender. “But it’s fine! I’m fine! Marly’s just better at wound cleaning spells than I am.” 

Lily let out a strangled sound, and smacked his arm again. “Sit down you idiot and let me look at it.” James gaped at her until she poked him in the chest, hard. “It’s me or Pomfrey and Pomfrey will have to report it. You know the laws! And Marlene’s grandpa died. She left for the funeral last night.” 

“Oh.” James’ face fell. “She was so worried about him. Is she okay?” 

Lily was now looking at him as if he’d grown a second head, but turned sharply away when he cocked his head curiously at her. She stepped toward his bed, snatching the first aid kit from where he’d left it. “She’s okay,” she said softly, still not looking at him. “But you’re bleeding.” James looked down, and sure enough, fresh rivulets of blood were snaking their way down his chest and over his stomach. 

“Shit.” He looked around for his bloodied shirt, but Lily was already tugging him towards the bed. Drawing her wand, she sat him down on the edge and began to clean it gently. Part of him was still waiting to be hexed into the next century, but she handled him as carefully as he’d seen her handle the baby unicorn in Care of Magical Creatures. She applied the essence of dittany once she’d cleaned it, and cringed at the slashing scars that formed, pink and shiny against his otherwise tan, unblemished skin. 

“There’s nothing that can be done for scars made by—“

“I know. It’s okay. I don’t mind, I just don’t want Moony to feel guilty. He couldn’t have stopped it even if he wanted to.” James ran a hand through his hair. “How’d you know? About Moony?” 

Lily raised an eyebrow at him, pinning him with a flat look. “Seriously? You think Marlene figured that out on her own? And you lot aren’t subtle. It’s a miracle some of the others haven’t caught on.” She carefully repacked the first aid kit, moving far more slowly than James thought she normally would. 

“So you’re not going to hand us over to McGonagall?” James' stomach sank at the thought. 

“And leave me alone as a prefect without Remus? Hell no. And I will shred you to pieces and deny it to my dying day if you repeat this,” she glared at him to drive her point home. ”But you’re a good friend, Potter. Not just to Remus and Sirius, yes I know he’s staying with you this summer—“ she continued without missing a beat at his sputtering, “but to Marlene and Alice and Frank… Even to me.” She twisted her wand in her hands, refusing to meet his eyes. 

“Maybe you aren’t as bad as I thought. You’re certainly a better kisser than I gave you credit for.” She finally looked up, her green eyes glittering wickedly as he sputtered again. With that, she left him alone in stunned silence. 

Two weeks later, they were in the common room after dinner, when Sirius saw his chance. 

“Oi! Evans!” He waved wildly from his place with his head in Remus’ lap. James groaned from his chair across from them, trying to hide behind his transfiguration textbook. 

Lily turned from her conversation with Marlene, her eyes wary. “Yes, Sirius?” 

“Jamie hasn’t talked about you in days. What did you do to shut him up?” Sirius grinned unabashedly, dodging Remus’ lunge to cover his mouth with his hand. 

“Leave it, Padfoot,” Remus hissed, tugging on his arm, but Lily was already drawing closer. 

“Do you need a newspaper, Remus? It might be helpful in training your mutt. I mean, boyfriend.” Lily smiled benignly as Sirius’ laugh died, and his eyes grew wide. “Oh don’t worry. I’m not going to  _ rat _ you out,” she whispered, leaning in closer and nodding at Peter, who promptly dropped an entire inkwell. Black ink splattered up James’ leg, but he just sank deeper into his chair, his nose now so close to the pages that it was nearly touching so he couldn’t see his friends’ expressions of varying degrees of shock. 

“But I hear James won’t be going  _ stag _ to the Hufflepuff party next weekend, either.” The book tumbled from his hands as she slid into his lap, and he looked up to see her triumphant smile. He barely had time to register that it was actually her in his arms before she was leaning in, and kissing him, _hard_. 

James didn’t see Marlene collect several galleons from several follow sixth years, or Sirius fall off the sofa when Remus let go of his arm. His whole world had condensed to the witch on his lap, and he wasn't entirely certain he wasn't dreaming. When Lily pulled back, he was staring at her in awe. 

“Six bloody years and you finally understand how funny we actually are!” James grinned, and she rolled her eyes, but couldn’t hide her smile. 

“I’ve been waiting for my chance for a fortnight now, Potter. We need to have a serious conversation about leaving a girl hanging.” Her eyes sparkled, and he breathed in the sweet citrus scent that clung to her and made his mouth water in anticipation. 

“Can I subtly avoid it, and do this again?” Before she could answer, he cradled her face in his hands and kissed her again, this time to whoops and hollers from their friends. He knew he wasn't dreaming when she bit his lip sharply in retaliation, but proceeded to _thoroughly_ kiss it better. 

If every serious conversation ended up like this, he'd be a very, very happy man. He also needed to find about a million more serious conversations to have... 

**Author's Note:**

> This was intended to be a one-shot... but I have so many ideas. If you like it, please subscribe because there is possibly... maybe... definitely... certainly going to be more. 
> 
> XOXO, Ruby


End file.
